Uncomfortable with compliance choice

While citizens of Gloucester County may applaud the freeholders’ stated intention to appoint a “neutral” compliance officer to monitor some of the county’s legal requirements (concerning open meeting and records laws and contracts), I am not sure how we can apply, as they suggest, the word “neutral” to this scheme.

First, we must take the word of county Administrator Chad Bruner that this appointment has absolutely nothing to do with an upcoming hearing in a Superior Court case filed against the county, in which attorney Mark Cimino wants a judge to mandate that the county designate such a compliance officer.

We need to accept, as Burner tells us, that this is just a “natural progression” of where the county wants to go. Bruner states the freeholder board has been considering the creation of this position for quite a while and this just seems to be the right time to cover their … I mean, implement this improvement in transparency.

Second, we must accept that our new county compliance officer is indeed neutral and independent. M. Allan Vogelson is, indeed, a respected retired judge with many years of distinguished service. He is, however, also a member of the Parker McKay law firm, already under contract with the Democrat-controlled freeholder board. Further, Parker McKay has not only been a major donor to the Democratic Party, but Phil Norcross, a brother of Democrat “machine boss” George Norcross, is a principal in the law firm.

Longtime New Jersey and Gloucester County residents will find it hard to resist being cynical about appointments such as these. While Vogelson is a respected jurist, his employment and the circumstances surrounding it seem to be just another case of political self-dealing and the fox guarding the chicken coop.